41 education groups join cohort to end STEM teacher shortage

A group of 41 additional educational organizations on Thursday pledged to address the root causes of the Unites States’ shortage of K-12 teachers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Announced by 100Kin10, a group aiming to solve the STEM teacher shortage by 2021, the newly committed nonprofits, academic institutions, private companies and government agencies join an existing cohort of some 300 organizations. Responding to President Barack Obama’s call during his 2011 State of the Union address to train 100,000 new STEM teachers within a decade, the partner organizations are working to recruit, prepare and support those teachers.

“100Kin10 realized from the beginning that there was no way to get to a goal this big if we didn’t make it possible for lots of people and organizations to contribute,” Talia Milgrom-Elcott, 100Kin10’s executive director, told EdScoop.

Each of the partner organizations have made commitments to address specific challenges surrounding the STEM teacher shortage — like how to increase the supply of teachers, retain talent or put policies in place to prevent future shortages.